Tim Worsnop

The Skids formed in 1977 at the height of the Punk and New Wave movements in their home town of Dunfermline, Scotland. They were Richard Jobson, Stuart Adamson, Bill Simpson and Tom Kellichan. After releasing an independent single the band were played by John Peel, supported The Clash in concert and then were signed to Virgin Records in 1978. Their first singles were ‘Sweet Surburbia’, ‘The Saints are Coming’ and ‘Into the Valley’ – the latter reaching the UK Top Ten in early 1979. Their seminal debut album ‘Scared to Dance’; came out in 1979 and was quickly followed by two chart singles – ‘Masquerade’ and ‘Working for the Yankee Dollar’. Both singles were taken from second album ‘Days in Europa’. The band released two more albums ‘The Absolute Game’ (1980) and ‘Joy’ (1981) before splitting. The late Stuart Adamson going on to have worldwide success with his new band Big Country.

The Skids briefly reformed in 2007 to celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary with concerts in their native Scotland at T in the Park and in their hometown of Dunfermline. Now another 10 years on and they’re celebrating the anniversary with a first tour in almost 40 years arriving in Wakefield tonight (December 7). “Memories fade, but some linger for a reason,” says Jobson. “The Skids was the definitive part of my early life. A brilliant adventure into the world of creativity and adulthood. Taking these memories and replanting them into 2017 has not been easy. How do you do it? How should it sound? Are we little more than a heritage band? The answers ended up being very simple – Don’t over think it – Just do it. Enjoy every minute of it. Play the songs like it might be the last time. Give it everything. And then there’s the new stuff! The beginning of something new rather than the end of something old.”

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